iPhone 4S melted and leaked battery acid, claims owner

A New Yorker claims her iPhone battery melted before her eyes, turning her phone into a fractured aluminium and glass composite that it’s fair to say won’t be making any money on the resale market for its unfortunate owner any time soon.

Marketing exec Shibani Bhujle claims her handset’s battery went the way of Dali’s melting timepieces while it was switched off and nestling on her coffee table at home.

According to Bhujle, she was minding her own business when the iPhone 4S switched itself on and off and her nostrils were hit by the sickly tang of burning electrical equipment.

She said: “Within a minute, there was a very strong smell—it smelled like something was burning. I picked up my phone and it was very, very hot.

“It wouldn’t turn on. In the following minute. I couldn’t hold it because it was too hot to touch. I was panicking. I expected it to explode or something.”

While picking up and removing the back of the handset to inspect the damage, Bhujle claims she burned her fingers.

At the time of writing, Apple was refusing to replace the handset. Instead, the customer was told she could either buy a new phone for full price or pay a $200 insurance surcharge to get a new one from Verizon.

The incident follows similar reports of spontaneously combusting Apple smartphones, which it's claimed have seen a smoking iPhone light up a plane with its hot, red glow and a separate incident that purportedly resulted in a hole being burned through a car seat.

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